A Rejected Postgrad

It kind of seems like people have been telling my generation our whole lives that the job market sucks. It has been a topic of conversation ever since we were in middle school and didn’t even have ability to stare 5 years into our future and think about what we wanted to major in when we got to college.

When forced to start thinking about it as we emerged into our teen years, we all threw out some ideas that seemed like good careers that would make us happy. We wanted to be teachers, nurses, artists, and psychologists. We wanted to teach people, help people, create, and cause change.

But teachers don’t make money – we were told. Everyone wants to be a nurse, it’s too competitive – we were told. An artist isn’t a career – we were told. You aren’t going to go anywhere with that unless you want to be in school for the rest of your life – we were told.

I always wanted to do something with English and creative writing, I even listed it as my major when I made my first scary steps into college. But questions flooded me – what are you going to do with that? Do you think you’ll make any money? You consider that a career?

I guess it wasn’t practical, to do what I wanted to do. So I chose to major in advertising, a field that is always growing. I chose to minor in journalism, because I did like to write. I chose to concentrate in new media, because it was artistic and taught me about the new world of media and social media.

Yet here I am, starting my search for a career and consistently coming up empty. For every 40 jobs I apply to, I will maybe hear back from 3. And maybe get an interview from one of them. I spend my days on online job boards clicking apply, submitting my resume, refilling out information that is already on my resume, then confirming that I am a white female that is not disabled and is not a protected veteran. Over and over and over again.

These online job boards send you “no-reply” emails, so you have no chance of ever contacting the person you want to work for. You’re lucky if someone even sends you an email to deny you, they’ll most likely ignore you.

I was fortunate enough to land a great internship for the summer. I have experience, but entry level jobs now apparently require at least 3 years experience. And any entry level job that doesn’t, will probably have you sitting at a desk making pesky phone calls or going door to door for sales.

So thanks for warning me about the failing job market, I guess I just thought it would get better or changing my career path would help me out. For now, I’ll be receiving dozens of confirmation emails and waiting around until someone decides to make me an accepted postgrad, instead of a rejected one.

Published by Rosie Culture

I graduated from Rowan University in 2015! I majored in Advertising, minored in Journalism, and concentrated in New Media. I am a social media enthusiast and am especially passionate about Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. When I'm not scrolling through pictures of pugs, pinning vegetarian recipes, or trying to be funny in 140 characters or less; I'm the Communications Specialist at a non profit! Did you guys know you can't make a career out of complaining about your life and tagging people in pictures of sloths?
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16 thoughts on “A Rejected Postgrad”

The administrators at these schools have failed us! Had I known what I know now, I would have never gone to college. I think I would have been better off picking up a shitload of trades and be self-employed. We gone about getting our degrees and now it’s a pain in the ass to find a career. There are places within our field that require experience but how are we supposed to gain experience if we aren’t being employed? Oh and it gets better because there is a such thing as being overqualified for a position. Like if we are applying to a low-level position who the heck cares, take us anyways because obviously we looked past that and still would love to do the job. I just don’t get it…

Ugh I totally understand, as I’m applying to jobs now some of the entry level ones in my field don’t even require a bachelor’s degree – so why did I spend four years in college? Being overqualified is a joke haha I’ll take what I can get at this point!

Exactly! That’s like I wanted to be a state trooper but when I finished high school I was only 17. I was presented two options, military or college. I went the college route because I wasn’t old enough to be a state trooper yet. I took the Civil Service exam back in 2013 and found out that all I needed was a high school diploma in order to become a law enforcement official. Also, I realized that Veterans dominate that whole entire sector. Honestly, it’s like us educated folks are not wanted there.

I felt the same exact way as you, why did I even bother going to college? I figured since I already started, why stop now? I received my bachelors degree in 2013 and kept going ever since. Screw that. There’s no point in stopping now.

My advice as someone who has owned his own business and made his living writing for most of 30 years…it may not fit you. I have no agenda here, but if it works for you, then use it. If not, nod politely and pretend I am wise. My ego is extremely fragile. That’s why I give advice to strangers…

I long ago gave up on getting a job. Do something, anything, online showing your talents and abilities while you look for a job might be a good plan. Either you will succeed and a job will be irrelevant, or you will get the job you seek and will have gained valuable experience.

If I can be of any assistance, do not hesitate to contact me: Fictional Kevin at Gee It’s Mail.

Thank you 🙂 I appreciate any advice! I have been really working on my online presence and portfolio in the meantime so at least I’ll have something to show for myself when I get in the door and at least I’m working on something I like!

The Millennial generation is still having a tough time with landing meaningful jobs after college. I’m surprised your internship didn’t open any doors for you. We are still feeling the effects of the Recession. Hang in there.